Sutherland, Sangha and Uppal to lead Australia U19s against Sri Lanka

Melbourne, 7 April: The Australia Under 19s captaincy will be shared between three players for the upcoming six-match series against Sri Lanka in Hobart, with Will Sutherland, Jason Sangha, and Param Uppal being given the opportunity to lead.

Victorian all-rounder Sutherland will have the first opportunity, taking the reins for the three-day match commencing on Saturday, while Sangha and Uppal will take the reins for the first time during the five one-day matches.

All three will be eligible for selection for the 2018 ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.

“There’s lots of good candidates there, lots of guys that have shown really good captaincy skills in the Pathways system,” Australia Under 19s coach Matthew Elliott said.

“We just want to share those opportunities around.

“The main thing for these guys is to understand the pressures that come with captaincy and understand a little bit more about dealing with their teammates and being able to manage them under pressure situations in games, and how they personally respond as well.”

Sutherland, 17, captained Victoria Metro at the under-17s championships and the Cricket Australia XI at the under-19s championships.

He was named in the Team of the Championships at both carnivals, after impressing with bat and ball.

“Will’s captained a lot of the teams that he’s played in the Pathways system,” Elliott said.

“He’s done really well for the Vics and then the CA XI team last year at the under-19s. We’ve been really impressed with his skills.”

Sangha, 17, is an NSW Blues and Sydney Thunder rookie, who this season has represented the Cricket Australia XI at the Matador BBQs Cup and in a tour game against Pakistan, plus the Prime Minister’s XI against Sri Lanka.

A skillful right-hand batsman, Sangha has previously scored a century at the international under-19s level for Australia.

“In some things we did at the CA Rookie Camp, Jason showed a lot of skills that we really liked,” Elliott said.

“We want to give him the opportunity to captain and get him to understand how the mechanics of captaincy works. We’re really excited about what he might be able to show in that role.”

Uppal, 18, is the oldest of the three captains and a classy batting all-rounder.

He starred for NSW Metro at the recent under-19 championships with 370 runs, the equal-third most of any player at the carnival.

“Param’s a very skillful player, and he’s captained a lot of his underage teams as well,” Elliott said.

“He’s got some experience there in captaining junior teams, and we want to give him that exposure and see how he performs.”